Switzerland
Mini driver picks up two hitchhikers – it’s the Minister of Transport, of all people
Simonetta Sommaruga, Swiss Minister of Transport
© Marcel Bieri / Picture Alliance
Two women, one of them almost 90 years old, want to get on as hitchhikers. It holds a red mini. The Minister of Transport is behind the wheel. A story from Switzerland.
Simonetta Sommaruga shared “a beautiful, unusual story” on Instagram. The 61-year-old Federal Councilor is a member of the SP, the Swiss Social Democratic Party, and is head of the Federal Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. At the end of January, the Minister of Transport jumped in as a chauffeur: “When I was recently driving my Mini, two women were on the icy roadside,” Sommaruga continues to write on Instagram. She stopped and took the two with her. One of the hitchhikers was almost 90 years old.
As a thank you, the top politician received a card from the women with the message: “Dear Ms. Sommaruga, what a peaceful country we have where a federal councilor takes hitchhikers with her.” The Federal Councilor shared a photo of the card on Instagram. Writing touches her. And she agrees: “Yes, we have a peaceful country with wonderful people. Ms. K., thank you!”
“Only in Switzerland,” says a Twitter user who shared a text from SRF on the subject – and received some encouragement for it.
This story is something special even in Switzerland
In Switzerland, distances are short, trust and security are high. Members of the government travel by train – or sometimes by Mini. Scenes of US presidential-style limousine convoys are received with dismay. But the story with the hitchhikers is not commonplace, even by Swiss standards, as Sommaruga herself writes in her text. Large Swiss media picked them up. And followed up. If you have any doubts about all the peacefulness: the Keystone-SDA news agency asked the Ministry of Transport at the beginning of February. The story happened last weekend in the Bütschelegg region in the canton of Bern, said communications manager Annetta Bundi.
Until a few years ago, however, the story about the Mini would not have existed in this way. Sommaruga has been driving the bright red car as her personal company vehicle since 2018, after having done without one for a long time. It is light, small and has good traction, “a bit of a go-kart feeling”, she raved about it shortly after purchasing it, reports “Blick”. In any case, the purchase was worthwhile for the two hitchhikers and this fine story from Switzerland.
Sources: Instagram, SRF, Twitter, “View”